Compound Sentences

Compound Sentences

SeemaVinicius

Writing Class

Capital Community College Foundation. (2004). Combine Sentences Skills. Retrieved from: http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/combining_skills.htm

Why do we need to Combine Sentences?

O Sentences have to be combined to avoid the monotony that would surely result if all sentences were brief and of equal length.

O The objectives are keeping the text alive and the reader awake.


Compounding Sentences

O A compound sentence consists of two or more independent clauses.O At least two units of thought within

the sentence


Compounding Sentences

O The clauses of a compound sentence are either separated by:O Semicolon (relatively rare)O Coordinating conjunction (which is,

more often than not, preceded by a comma)

O The most common coordinating conjunctions are and and but. (The others are or, for, yet, and so.)

O Relationship between the sentences.


ExampleO Lewis had been well trained by scientists

in Philadelphia prior to his expedition.O He was a curious man by nature.

O Lewis had been well trained by scientists in Philadelphia prior to his expedition, and he was a curious man by nature.


Compounding Sentence Elements

O Within a sentence, ideas can be connected by compounding various sentence elements: subjects, verbs, objects or whole predicates, modifiers, etc.

O Notice that when two such elements of a sentence are compounded with a coordinating conjunction adequate and no comma is required.


Compounding Sentence Elements: Subject

O When two or more subjects are doing parallel things, they can often be combined as a compounded subject.


ExampleO Example:

O President Jefferson convinced Congress to raise money for the expedition working with Meriwether Lewis

O Meriwether Lewis convinced Congress to raise money for the expedition working with President Jefferson

O Working together, President Jefferson and Meriwether Lewis convinced Congress to raise money for the expedition.


Compounding Sentence Elements: Objects

O When the subject(s) is/are acting upon two or more parallel things, the objects can be combined.

O Objects must be parallel in construction


ExampleO President Jefferson believed that the

headwaters of the Missouri reached all the way to the Canadian border.

O He also believed that meant he could claim all that land for the United States.

O President Jefferson believed that the headwaters of the Missouri might reach all the way to the Canadian border and that he could claim all that land for the United States.


Compounding Sentence Elements: Verbs

O When the subject(s) is/are doing two things at once, ideas can sometimes be combined by compounding verbs and verb forms.


ExampleO In Philadelphia, Lewis learned to chart the

movement of the stars.O He also learned to analyze their movements with

mathematical precision.

O In Philadelphia, Lewis learned to chart and analyze the movement of the stars with mathematical precision.

OR O In Philadelphia, Lewis learned to chart the

stars and analyze their movements with mathematical precision.


ConclusionO Compound senteces are important

for a good essay

O Find the relationship between the ideas and choose the adequate coordinating conjunctions


Thank you!

Documents

Compound Sentences